Four UFC fights worth watching this weekend

If you didn’t already know, there are two UFC events this weekend. We’ve got UFC Fight Night 55 on Friday in Australia, then UFC Fight Night 56 Saturday in Brazil. UFN 55 is Fight Pass only, while UFN 56 will air on Fox Sports 1 and 2, and Fight Pass.

There’s 22 fights in all over two days, but here are the four main fights you’ll want to pay attention to.

Luke Rockhold (12-2) vs. Michael Bisping (25-6)

Ross Pearson (16-7, 1 NC) vs. Al Iaquinta (9-3-1)

Ovince Saint Preux (16-6) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (22-9)

Ian McCall (13-4-1) vs. John Lineker (24-7)

Rockhold vs. Bisping

No. 5 ranked middleweight Rockhold (-450) is a pretty heavy favorite over No. 9 ranked Bisping (+360) but you can’t count “The Count” out. He looked good against Cung Le in August with a fourth round TKO win over a better striker than Rockhold. Let’s don’t forget too that 15 of “The Count’s” 25 wins have been via knockout. His volume punching wears his opponents down. Rockhold does have some nasty kicks though, and where he definitely holds the advantage is with his submissions, most recently tapping out Tim Boetsch with an inverted triangle kimura in April.

Iaquinta vs. Pearson

All of three of Iaquinta’s losses have come via submission. Pearson does have five submission wins on his record, but it’s been about six years since he’s tapped anyone out.Pearson’s last three wins in the Octagon have all been via TKO, lastly stopping Gray Maynard in the first round in August. Most of Iaquinta’s UFC wins have been by decision, but he is coming off a TKO win over Rodrigo Damm in September. Oddsmakers have this one very close with Pearson (-150) a slight favorite over Iaquinta (+130).

Saint Preux vs. Shogun

Saint Preux showed us his wrestling still needs a bit of work against Ryan Bader in August. Before that though, the former UT Vol linebacker was unbeaten in the UFC with four straight victories. Currently ranked No. 10 in the UFC light heavyweight division, Saint Preux’s athleticism combined with his ability to end fights standing or on the ground makes him a potential threat against anyone. Shogun is ranked at No. 9, and we all know what he brings to the table, the question is, what does the legend have left in the tank at this stage of his career? Oddsmakers have Shogun (-195) the favorite over Saint Preux (+160) by a slim margin.

McCall vs. Lineker

McCall sits at No. 3 among UFC flyweights, while Lineker is ranked No. 6. When McCall is on his game he looks like a world beater. Following a draw and a loss to Demetrious Johnson in 2012, and a decision loss to Joseph Benavidez in early 2013, McCall has put together back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Illarde Santos and Brad Pickett. Speed and his ability to mix things up are what make McCall one of the best in his division. The problem is Lineker has some serious power, having ended four of his five UFC wins via TKO. His latest victim was Alp Ozkilic in July. Odds have McCall (-175) the favorite over Lineker (+145) in another close one.

That’s it guys, our four fights worth watching this weekend. If you have some fights you’re looking forward to, let us know in the comments section below.